Monday, February 11, 2008

Robert Fontanelli has a Drawn-out Birthday.

I have spent the entire day making an “imovie” with music and Ken Burns effects and all the usual blings for your consumption. If it's a bit rough, well, it's my first have-at.

The subject of said movie is Robert Fontanelli’s Birthday Drawing Party held at the Zipper Theater in New York City on Sunday.

Such fun! Guests were invited to sketch live models who delivered a comique-burlesque theme. I felt as if transported to Marseilles or perhaps Gustavia on St. Bart’s. Adjacent to the theater was an open bar and an exotic buffet for those who did not draw, or needed restoration. Robert, an artist and art director, assembled a superb event to which we were delighted to have been invited.

We wandered into the theater where some skilled artists were hard at work. Unaccustomed to sketching while observed, we shrugged off shyness and selected a couple of tablets. I chose four soft pencils, and C selected a set of pastels. I had to work fast and loose to keep up with the shifting tableaux. Enjoyable and in the result you'll find evidence of my usual tendency to exaggerate.

C embarked on an ambitious rendering of an enormous scarlet brassiere.

We were delighted to find a dear friend in attendance. David Carino, whom we know from our Provincetown years, is an artist (and now a writer). He, like us, has relocated to NYC. David reads this blog. Remind me to tell you all about that time above the Schoolhouse Gallery one summer afternoon while the screen door announced tourists, and the Irish Setter snored… What? You think you’ve read my complete memoirs? Think again, dears. You haven’t touched the tip of the iceberg.

Happy Birthday, Robert!

And, so much bigger on Youtube (farmboyz) which Blogger doesn't seem to want to show.